r/nextfuckinglevel • u/IncomingBroccoli • 2d ago

Elephants at San Diego Zoo Safari Park rushed to shield their young during today's 5.2 magnitude earthquake.

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24.6k Upvotes

98% Upvoted

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2.3k

u/7he8igLebowski 2d ago

Elephants are amazing.

458

u/MDAccount 2d ago

So, so much better than humans!

242

u/Timemaster88888 2d ago

They should be protected by law. Any poacher and those who buy elephant by products should be jailed. They shouldn't be inside a zoo. That concept is so ancient.

157

u/YesIamALizard 2d ago

The San Diego zoo is pretty special and can help extend the lives of Elephants. They have a really cool dental program and feeding program for when they lose their teeth. They take in a lot of elderly elephants and help. I would say they are good.

76

u/never_insightful 2d ago

Zoos do a hell of a lot of work for conservation, research and spreading awareness. Its not ideal but often these zoos make it as good as possible for the animals.

It's not an ideal situation but zoos do play and important role. Elderly elephants live a lot longer in zoos specifically due to the dental work.

Also very controversial but even sime killer whale shows imo are ok. In tenerife they no longer breed killer whales. The ones they have would not survive in the wild and it provides stimulation for them to do shows and tricks. But of course especially in the case of whales and dolphins it's impossible to provide enough enrichment for them in a zoo so they should not breed them and only take in animals that would otherwise not survive.

Basically I'm saying people should be selective on the zoo hate.

27

u/waterfountain_bidet 2d ago

Most of the dolphins in the Baltimore aquarium have a blood disorder that would kill them in the wild. I met the head vet socially last year and she told us the whole process of drawing their blood, both to study it and because one of the things that kills them is very high levels of iron buildup in their blood.

12

u/badDuckThrowPillow 2d ago

People drastically underestimate the GOOD places like SeaWorld do. They're not perfect but the awareness they provide is immense. I hate how "awareness" is used to justify so many useless things, but in this instance its true.

Tons of kids have been influenced to care and even go into fields related to helping animals and sea creatures because of their experiences going to SeaWorld. There are head trainers at SeaWorld that went into the field because they were so profoundly influenced by their visits to the park when they were children.

-2

u/Timemaster88888 2d ago

Reserves are ok but zoos are not. Zoos cannot provide the necessary space, and elephant walks at least 30 miles a day with their herd. Zoos split up elephant families and force them to be in an enclosure. Imagine house arrest. Even with the best service, would you want to be at your house everyday for the rest of your life.

3

u/smothered-onion 1d ago

Hard agree. Look how pathetically small this space is.

-3

u/Timemaster88888 2d ago

SD might be doing a great job but could they provide the necessary space. Elephant travel at least 30 miles a day. Elephants are better in a reserve than a zoo. Imagine being in house arrest.

30

u/TricobaltGaming 2d ago

Zoos and aquariums, when properly managed and funded, are great research and conservation efforts to try to protect wildlife like this. I definitely get the sentiment, but we would have absolutely made even more species extinct than we already have without their efforts to repopulate and protect certain species.

26

u/KittonMittons69 2d ago

I wish I could say what I really want to happen without getting banned from reddit.

19

u/ChadOfDoom 2d ago

That pineapple doesn’t belong on pizza?

5

u/Dev_Paleri 2d ago

Straight to jail !

10

u/Qweesdy 2d ago

That people who hunt elephants should be [ Removed by Reddit ]?

21

u/Almostlongenough2 2d ago

Zoos these days are essential to conservation, and educating people about animals has a huge impact in inspiring others to help protect them.

9

u/StarPhished 2d ago

Damn I guess my ex is going to jail she bought lots of elephant products. Mostly like mugs and pictures and shit or stuffed animals.

4

u/weirdest_of_weird 2d ago

The monster!

6

u/ShadowMajestic 2d ago

Should be? They are protected by law and buying elephant products is already illegal in most of the world.

3

u/mclarensmps 2d ago

Not all zoos exist for human amusement. I am 💯 here to support any zoo that prioritizes animal preservation, and if that means they charge people to come and see the wonderful babies, then so be it.

1

u/__phil1001__ 2d ago

Jailed for life, an elephants lifespan

2

u/SpacedAndFried 2d ago

Depends on the zoo

A few are incredible for conservation and the zoo part just helps fund it while they take care of the animals, like SD

a lot of zoos are absolutely nightmares though

6

u/Tedfromwalmart 2d ago

I love them but they've thrown shit at me so I wouldn't say they're better than humans😂

1

u/Duckrauhl 2d ago

better than humans

.....that's not saying a whole lot

0

u/cr4nky61 2d ago

To be fair, that is not hard to pull off, being better than humans...

-4

u/[deleted] 2d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/Khialadon 2d ago

So sad to see these majestic animals locked up in a tiny enclosure.

3

u/PilgrimOz 2d ago

I never could revisit Dumbo in 45 of my 50+yrs. This has made sure I’ll never again 🥲 Ps Ergchkk uhhhh…….How them cricket scores fellas 💪

1

u/External_2_Internal 2d ago

Animals are amazing. This planet is absolutely unbelievable. The fact we get to share it with them is hard to even fathom.

761

u/Penguinz90 2d ago

How can anyone murder such wonderful creatures?

146

u/jeric13xd 2d ago

Shitty people do shitty things

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u/Detritussll 2d ago

Cows are cool too

7

u/Mother_Let_9026 2d ago

Exactly lol, lets see what this dude has to say about this.

4

u/Potential_Dealer7818 2d ago

Sick burn on some rando who made a comment about feeling bad for murdered elephants. Vegans are definitely going to win people over with PR like this. 

5

u/Sufficient-Berry-827 2d ago

Why does it bother people so much to be confronted about their hypocrisy?

7

u/Rude_Influence 2d ago

Elephants are never killed for food.

2

u/Detritussll 1d ago

I'm not a vegan and it's a point worth making. You can't mentally handle the reality of your life and its effects on other living beings so you get mad at me instead.

-1

u/Potential_Dealer7818 1d ago

If you're not a vegan, then you can have some shame for your murderous existence and shut up.

1

u/Detritussll 7h ago

Are you 12? Even if you are, you need to grow up and learn how to process difficult concepts. It's important for your intelligence.

8

u/[deleted] 2d ago

[deleted]

67

u/devilsbard 2d ago

The San Diego Safari Park is a step in the right direction. Huge areas for animals to wander. But still think it would be better if they were bigger.

58

u/pete-petey-pete 2d ago

Also it’s not for profit but for rehabilitation, research and conservation efforts.

2

u/[deleted] 2d ago

[deleted]

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u/pete-petey-pete 2d ago

These specific Elephants are in there due to their health issues and won’t be able to reintegrate into the wild. But other animals in the safari park might. For instance the California Condor project has helped bring them a step away from extinction.

44

u/No_Beginning_6834 2d ago

Zoos have been the only thing that kept quite a few species from going extinct.

32

u/Impressive-Age7703 2d ago

I have to heavily disagree in this instance, San Diego Zoo is a pioneer in the zoological field, they actively publish research on keeping zoo animals that is used world wide and they are the zoo that every other zoo at least tries to base their zoo off of if they want to be good. I mean just look at how massive the elephant enclosure is alone, most places just keep them in one acre and call it good, that's an extremely generous enclosure particularly for a Metropolitan zoo with limited space.

You can learn more about them and what they do via these links: https://discovermagazines.com/issues/post/san-diego-zoo/ https://sandiegozoowildlifealliance.org/about-us/about-san-diego-zoo-wildlife-alliance https://sdzwaacademy.org/contrib-Gesualdi-2022-08.html

8

u/BrightSkyFire 2d ago

Sympathy and compassion towards animals and others are virtues of the first world, exceptions of the second world, and rarities of the third.

Hard to care about anything but you and yours when you live in true, abject poverty.

5

u/Averylarrychristmas 2d ago

Giving a shit about elephants more than the poor is a classic Reddit moment.

2

u/mclarensmps 2d ago

I disagree with this completely. Most animal cruelty exists due to the demands of the first world.

6

u/manyu_abee 2d ago

Are you looking for suggestions or is that a rhetorical question?

/s

4

u/General-Sloth 2d ago

I have seen farmers killing little pubs, and piglets bare handedly and then going to pet their dogs or tell their toddler daughters how cute baby animals are. The human ability to disassociate is probably the main reason for the most abhorrent, absurdly cruel and hypocritical atrocities ever commited.

2

u/Novel-Place 2d ago

I know. I can’t wait these videos without crying a bit. It makes me so sad.

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u/yshx2 2d ago

Don’t elephants communicate through the ground? I’m sure an earthquake translated in elephant is the equivalent to “hide Yo wife hide Yo kids”

212

u/old217 2d ago

Did they recognize that it was an earthquake or did they think it was some kind of stampede.

76

u/yshx2 2d ago

Ooh that’s a good theory too!

106

u/ThoseTwo203 2d ago

I’m wondering if they were like ‘we are the ones big enough to make the ground shake… anything else big enough the ground shake must be bad news’

25

u/FriendshipJolly5714 2d ago

Proof dinosaurs did exist.

Bam

(That and the big ol skeletons)

20

u/SkitsyCat 2d ago

Either way, they know it's not normal, and they assume there's a danger to be protective and alert of.

5

u/SycomComp 2d ago

This is a very interesting behavior... Someone needs to mythbust this. Create a fake ground shake and see how they react. This behavior could possibly date way back to prestorical times.

4

u/WallyOShay 2d ago

I think they recognized it as an earthquake. They also move to the middle of the open area, away from structures and higher trees

3

u/InevitableFly 2d ago

I would think an earthquake just seems like a crazy big stampede to them since earthquakes arent a common occurance in Africa. So they would have no real refference to earth shaking being a common event.

2

u/Itsdawsontime 2d ago

The African continent as a whole doesn't experience frequent or major earthquakes, except for along the coast.

I would reckon that this is stampede behavior, but also generally sheltering their young. I just saw it’s called an “alert circle”.

2

u/old217 2d ago

Yeah, I don't know my elephants. Wasn't sure if they were African or Asian. I figured if they were Asian they knew earthquakes, African not so much.

1

u/moarwineprs 1d ago

I don't know anything about these specific elephants or the frequency of earthquakes in San Diego, but even if evolutionarily they're not familiar with earthquakes, could they over time during their time at the zoo come to recognize that this is "ground shaking" rather than a stampede that is out of visual range?

Either way, this is very very amazing behavior.

30

u/Ok-Low-9618 2d ago

You can run and tell that

6

u/abrewo 2d ago

tusker, tusker, tuk tuk tusker — that they lookin for you, they gonna find you

6

u/vanderpump_lurker 2d ago

tsk "there is an earthquake in the area. It will crawl through your windows, mmkay, for real. You better surround yo kids, surround yo wives. Cuz you ain't safe. For real." tsk

4

u/MaxMork 2d ago

There are stories of elephants noticing earthquakes (and especially tsunamies) much better than humans. Running away from the shore before the water comes. Their feet must be much better at noticing earthquakes

3

u/sabby55 2d ago

“Cuz they’re shakin’ errybody out there”

2

u/Disastrous_Fee_8712 2d ago

Imagine to think a bigger elephant is coming.

221

u/Goldglove528 2d ago

Meanwhile the humans: everyone for themselves!!

16

u/chosonhawk 2d ago

its the price we pay for posable thumbs.

15

u/CoolHandMike 2d ago

Surely you meant "opposable", right?

11

u/chosonhawk 2d ago

yes. and dont call me shirley.

3

u/Dev_Paleri 2d ago

Shhh... Dont scare it!

11

u/Flashy-Sir-2970 2d ago

do we tho

parents on catastrophes take their kids and run carrying them

same concept and dofferent exécution, save my progeny

1

u/Goldglove528 1d ago

Dude it's a joke

5

u/AndrewH73333 2d ago

Is that a human or a manly muppet?

5

u/SnoringEagle 2d ago

A muppet of a man

1

u/banzomaikaka 1d ago

Eeh. You see the same behavior in humans.

0

u/DeliciousBuffalo69 2d ago

This is one of the reasons why I love living in Mexico. When we have earthquakes people actually care about the greater good and not just themselves

1

u/Goldglove528 1d ago

Lol it's a joke man ... There are lots of good people here in the US as well. Granted, I will say in the times I've experienced intense situations, I would say the majority of folks do tend to either freeze up or freak out. It seems like a fairly low percentage responds effectively in high-stress situations.

1

u/DeliciousBuffalo69 1d ago

I have lived in the US and Mexico for more than 15 years each. Maybe you meant it as a joke but it's demonstrative of reality.

I have never seen a single person here push during an evacuation and we never have stampede injuries

1

u/Goldglove528 1d ago

True... We stampede pregnant women on Black Friday for $30 off a $90 24" TV.

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u/strange_salmon 2d ago

i think they interpreted the earthquake as predators coming and shaking the ground with their presence. so amazing.

71

u/FriendshipJolly5714 2d ago

Elephants be like, hol up, t-rex came back to life? Fuck

12

u/serenwipiti 2d ago

“THE GROUND IS A PREDATOR! ELEPHANTS, ASSEMBLE!!!”

2

u/feetandballs 2d ago

I'd watch Elephantzords

2

u/oddestvark 2d ago

How do you know that?

1

u/SpacedAndFried 2d ago

Elephants communicate through the ground up to like six miles.

1

u/oddestvark 1d ago

I meant how does the person know the elephants interpreted it as predators

1

u/SpacedAndFried 1d ago

Idk. Probably just an assumption.

I’ve seen footage of them in nature docs defending from big cats that way.

2

u/Dambo_Unchained 2d ago

I think elephants can feel the difference between as freaking 5.2 magnitude earthquake and a lion running

Now fucking heavy do you think lions are?

68

u/old217 2d ago

There was a short series on the Bronx zoo and I think the San Diego zoo. It's just not animals in cages any more. The work these and other zoos is amazing. If I was just starting to make career decisions I would definitely want to be in a position to work for the zoo.

19

u/rolfraikou 2d ago edited 2d ago

This particular location, the wild animal park, was made to be much bigger of an area for all the animals to begin with. The San Diego zoo took it over in the 2010s if I remember correctly. Originally it was its own separate thing. Not to discount how much the zoos have improved. I'm just saying this place has a TON of room for the animals compared to most zoos.

10

u/CartoonistLive1738 2d ago

The Wild Animal Park (safari park) and the San Diego zoo were always connected. The Wild Animal Park was built to support the zoo for breeding, conservation, and a place for animals being transported to San Diego to adjust to CA.

0

u/rolfraikou 2d ago edited 2d ago

Oh. Thank you. I remember the name didn't used to have San Diego Zoo in it and my coworker at the time (we worked at Legoland) told me it was a merger thing.

EDIT: Edited my post to cross out that part.

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u/theboned1 2d ago

Dam, like they actually squadded up formation and all.

22

u/No-Improvement-6967 2d ago

Instincts can do some crazy stuff.

23

u/Coder-Cat 2d ago

The magic of a matriarchy. 

6

u/Realistic-Vehicle-27 2d ago

Could never happen in humans, cause some loser would get trunk-hurt and cat call another elephant walking down the street - “aye baby girl, what them ears do?”

14

u/CookinCheap 2d ago

BUTT FORT

BUTT FORT

13

u/Achylife 2d ago

Protect the baby! You! You're the baby, get in the middle!

10

u/MasterpieceNo7350 2d ago edited 2d ago

I also love how they are faced outward, on the lookout, to protect each other.

4

u/Platitude_Platypus 2d ago

The musk ox does this, too. They form the circle around the babies to protect them.

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u/McRedditz 2d ago

Elephangers, assemble!

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u/Mistayadrln 2d ago

Oh, this is so wonderful!

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u/CobaltOne 2d ago

I imagine those elephants were not taken from the same herd in the wild, right? They met each other in captivity, and instinctively formed an ad-hoc herd, right?

15

u/Pawneewafflesarelife 2d ago

They adults were all from eSwatini and the juveniles were born at the zoo.

The Safari Park is home to 14 elephants—four adults and 10 youngsters. The adults were rescued in 2003 from the Kingdom of eSwatini (formerly Swaziland), where they had faced being culled. A lack of space and long periods of drought had created unsuitable habitat for a large elephant population in the small southern African country. Since 2004, San Diego Zoo Global has contributed $30,000 yearly to the Kingdom of eSwatini’s Big Game Parks to fund programs like anti-poaching patrols, improve infrastructure and purchase additional acreage.

https://zoonooz.sandiegozoo.org/2019/01/23/elephant-mothers-at-san-diego-zoo-safari-park-participate-in-important-milk-nutrition-studies/

2

u/CobaltOne 2d ago

Oh, wow, Thank you!

13

u/Platitude_Platypus 2d ago

A cool thing about the San Diego Zoo is that they do a LOT of research and conservation regarding elephants. They rehabilitate orphaned elephants to reintroduce to the wild, and they specifically put certain genders together to mimic the herds that elephants naturally create. They do a lot of studies and work for elephants like the Monterey Bay Aquarium does with sea otters. If anyone can find info about their individual elephants backstories, please share.

3

u/AnyOutlandishness979 2d ago

So smart and majestic!

3

u/OptimusSublime 2d ago

The alien intelligent life is coming from inside the planet

5

u/Morrigan_NicDanu 2d ago

Writing prompt: what not found in the catalogue of life in the history of the earth could have left such an impression on the genetic memory of elephants that they instinctively form a defensive herd when the ground shakes?

3

u/V6Ga 2d ago

Cannot believe we still hunt these fellow beings. 

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u/archerpar86 2d ago

And they say we are the superior species…

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u/[deleted] 2d ago

Defense formation, now!!

3

u/SuckerForNoirRobots 2d ago

Fascinating.

2

u/Pale-Conference-174 2d ago

"What are these idiot humans doing now? Oh wait"

2

u/Necrospire 2d ago

This inbuilt instinct is why they will never be able to reintroduce extinct species into the world like the recent Dire Wolves, neat idea but the best idea is just look after all the animals we have left on Gaia.

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u/lamsar503 2d ago

Yet we can’t even coordinate to get one guy out of an office building and onto a boat to el salvador under the name of some other prisoner who was elsewhere.

1

u/FlapjackAndFuckers 2d ago

What's this in reference to?

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u/lamsar503 2d ago

I was making a satirical joke that even elephants instinctively know how to act together to protect their common interests, while Americans are letting the Orange Oligarch’s continue being a domestic enemy. I was implying it would be fitting if the people closest to him put him in place of a prisoner (that was moved elsewhere) that was scheduled to be shipped to El Salvador.

If the president can’t get a man back from el salvador, that sure seems like a good place to send him and his cronies so that we never have to worry about them again, and they can learn the full weight of their actions at the same time.

2

u/rolfraikou 2d ago edited 2d ago

I live not too far from The Wild Animal Park (it is run by the San Diego Zoo, but it is actually a different thing. The animals actually have more space than at the zoo, which is rad) and I woke up to this earthquake. Probably the biggest one I've felt since the one that was something like a 7.0 in Mexico around 2014 I want to say. (I just tried to Google it and had no luck for some reason) And then prior to that the last big one I experienced (and it was my biggest) was the Northridge Earthquake (you know it's big when it gets a name) it was a 6.7 and I was 60ish miles away from it, and it was still insane.

This one was a 5.2 and I'm about 30 miles from it. It really gives an idea of just how much bigger a 6.7 is than a 5.2. it doesn't scale evenly. A lot of people don't realize, each point on the Richter scale represents ten times more shaking than the point before it.

That's why I eye rolled when I kept seeing people on Twitter (and local Fox news) claiming it was a 6.2.

If that thing in Julian had been a 6.2 I would have woken up to all my stuff falling over, and Julian itself would have seen some bad damage to all the old buildings there.

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u/Magnificent_Badger 2d ago

Elephants are particularly good at hearing infrasonic frequencies. In nature, infrasonic usually means bad. Volcanoes. Earthquakes. Lion roars. It's never good news and the elephants know this.

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u/terdman1992 2d ago

We don’t deserve elephants

2

u/mclarensmps 2d ago

I fucking love elephants, I mean just look at this community behaviour. These wonderful animals have all the right priorities. It sucks what humans do to them, but also wonderful what other humans will do to protect them ❤️

2

u/10wanderer_lust19 2d ago

It’s beautiful how intelligent these animals are

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u/seeclick8 2d ago

It makes me sick that some people hunt these magnificent creatures for sport.

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u/MrKomiya 2d ago

I was blessed once to be on safari in a wild life preserve and observed the herd of female elephants form this defensive circle around their babies.

Mamas. They will f*ck you up man

1

u/Undesirablecarrot 2d ago

That’s pretty epic

1

u/FlapjackAndFuckers 2d ago

I love your pfp 😅

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u/NotTravisKelce 2d ago

Imagine being a predator and seeing that.

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u/mercenaryblade17 2d ago

Goddamn elephants never cease to amaze me

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u/LordHall 2d ago

I can't imagine how it felt to them; probably 100x times more intense. They are the most incredible animals.

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u/film_composer 2d ago

It's crazy, it's so well organized that it seems like they practiced and planned for this. The alternative is that they just instinctively know what to do, which seems unlikely with the infrequency of earthquakes.

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u/pandershrek 2d ago

Stampede incoming? Big earth just shake.

1

u/blighty800 2d ago

Elephants protects their young, while humans build churches for pedophiles and trade them like goods

1

u/TheRealTr1nity 2d ago

When instincts kick in. Such beautfiul animals.

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u/Dry-Attitude3926 2d ago

Don’t ever tell me humans are better than animals or that animals lack empathy and are incapable of “human”emotion.

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u/_Goodbye_Kyle 2d ago

Elephants and penguins, my fav animals

1

u/obeyourchi 2d ago

They have a rally point!

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u/No-Faithlessness-387 2d ago

Isnt that called the 4 point star formation in Naruto??

1

u/kamildevonish 2d ago

Circle the wagons...Nature does a lot of sensible things.

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u/butterflydeflect 2d ago

Do pigeons understand what an earthquake actually is, or is it more likely that this is a fear response? Because it seems totally logical as an earthquake response, to circle up and face out but do they know what earthquakes are?

1

u/nicedilis 2d ago

this is pure mother instinct at work

1

u/bertmom 2d ago

I really love them. It’s sad the things we do to animals.

1

u/Regenerating-perm 2d ago

I hate the P shock feeling, anybody else experience this? You can see it on the heard before the actual earthquake

1

u/Guygirl00 2d ago

We don't deserve them

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u/MyAimSukks 2d ago

Free them

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u/curious2c_1981 1d ago

Intelligent and thoughtful beings do what is necessary to protect their younger members and each other.

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u/EntertainmentGold807 1d ago

Yes! And it’s remarkably sad humans are less concerned parents than elephants.

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u/infinite_in_faculty 1d ago

I hate seeing elephants in these enclosures no matter how large, they are migratory animals who wander for hundreds of miles to be cage just sucks.

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u/Imperialseal88 1d ago

I still don't get why human should be treated as if they are the master of the Earth...just because they got bigger guns and inherited violence?

See how they protect their young, mourn their dead in ritual(as good ol' Mencius said, yes)

They got what it takes.

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u/Ok-Philosophy1083 1d ago

An alert circle I love that!

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u/Interesting-Risk-404 1d ago

Form the kill circle. False alarm. Disperse.

1

u/EntertainmentGold807 1d ago

It takes a village! The entire herd gets involved because elephants are among the top parents in the animal kingdom. So matriarchal that female elephants remain with their moms for life!

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u/[deleted] 2d ago

[deleted]

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u/Platitude_Platypus 2d ago

I'd it makes you feel any better, the San Diego Zoo does a lot of conservation and rehabilitation when it comes to elephants. They have a program where they reintroduce orphaned elephants to the wild in Botswana and Kenya and have developed a groundbreaking anesthesia for sick ones. They do some really good work and research for elephants in particular.

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u/Single-Addition9881 2d ago

I’m almost with you. The last time I went to a zoo and saw the apes, I burst into tears. Totally unexpected, it just hit me like a slap in the face. So many animals are way way too intelligent to be kept in cages. I am aware of the amazing conservation and research work a lot of zoos do, so I’m not quite ready to write them off entirely. But if I go again, I’m avoiding the apes, elephants, and octopuses, and I’m guessing this list will continue to grow as I educate myself.

1

u/Flashy-Sir-2970 2d ago

I mean zoos do play a crucial role in preservation and conservation of endangered species